Publisher's Summary

There's nothing more frustrating than watching your bright, talented son or daughter struggle with everyday tasks like finishing homework, putting away toys, or following instructions at school. Your "smart but scattered" child might also have trouble coping with disappointment or managing anger. Drs. Peg Dawson and Richard Guare have great news: there's a lot you can do to help.

The latest research in child development shows that many kids who have the brain and heart to succeed lack or lag behind in crucial "executive skills"-the fundamental habits of mind required for getting organized, staying focused, and controlling impulses and emotions. Learn easy-to-follow steps to identify your child's strengths and weaknesses, use activities and techniques proven to boost specific skills, and problem-solve daily routines. Small changes can add up to big improvements-this empowering book shows how.

The most useful parts of this book are worksheets that you fill out, and tables that you refer to to make plans. This just does not translate well to being read aloud. You can't flip back and forth between chapters (and there are lots and lots of references to see Chapter 3 or whatever.) You can't skim over the sections that don't apply to your child's age or situation.

So, as much as I'm a fan of audiobooks, I'd recommend getting a paperback edition. Even Kindle would be difficult to photocopy, but it might work out if the format of the tables is preserved.

The book itself is decent, perhaps a bit simplistic, possibly a little wordy. Most solutions boil down to making a list of steps and following them.

11 of 11 people found this review helpful

J. Crickett

USA

19/06/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"Great Information - Requires Focused Listening"

If you could sum up Smart but Scattered in three words, what would they be?

Interesting, detailed and thorough! I have the hard copy of this book & read it some months ago. I decided to listen to it again through Audible because there's a lot of information in the book & I wanted a refresher.

Overall, I believe in this approach of teaching executive skills & I found this book to be the most thorough on the subject. In my opinion, following the program requires a moderately high level of executive skill development on the part of the adult parent. As I progressed through the book, I increasingly felt that my own executive skill level apparently needed further development. I recommend this book & feel the hard copy could be a good supplemental if you intend to institute this program within your family.

Any additional comments?

Overall, the information contained in the book was well worth the time required to complete it. This is a subject that requires more than just surface understanding & a moderate amount of planning. Perhaps that seems like a novel concept in this modern, microwavable macaroni & cheese culture in which we live!!

7 of 7 people found this review helpful

Stephanie G

5/06/14

Overall

Performance

Story

"Not great, lots of reputiton and really dull!!"

Any additional comments?

The first part was good and then for each chapter in how to improve the skill, the same type of information was just recycled. Once you got the jist of what they were on about there was no need to go through every single one to bore you to death. I couldn't finish it.

9 of 18 people found this review helpful

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